During a 2018 “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit, billionaire Bill Gates admitted he wasn’t much of a beer guy, but his dislike of a crisp Nedd Frothmann hasn’t stopped him from investing in the good stuff.
Today, it was revealed the Microsoft founder has acquired an €883 million (AU$1.3 billion) stake in Heineken – that’s 10.8 million shares in Heineken Holding NV with 6.65 million shares bought personally and an additional 4.18 million shares via the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, according to the Netherlands Financial Markets Authority. The shares were purchased from Mexico’s brewer FEMSA, in which he had previously invested US$392 million (AU$573 million) back in 2007.
When asked on Reddit what his favourite beer was, Gates replied: “I am not a big beer drinker. When I end up at something like a baseball game I drink light beer to get with the vibe of all the other beer drinkers. Sorry to disappoint real beer drinkers.” Even though Heineken didn’t even make the list of Australia’s most popular beers, Heineken’s 0.0 non-alcoholic beer sounds perfect for Gates if he’s looking to stay on the straight and narrow.
